Team USA FIBA Results and 2024 Summer Olympic Implications

    This past week in the world of basketball, the 2023 FIBA World Cup came to an end with Germany winning the tournament and taking home the gold medal. Although this came as a surprise to basketball fans all around the world, an even bigger surprise came when Team USA was eliminated and placed 4th overall, an atypical result for the dominant powerhouse of their national program. 

    This year’s Team USA roster featured many young, fringe All-Star caliber players such as Anthony Edwards, Brandon Ingram, Tyrese Halliburton, and current Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), Jaren Jackson Junior. Although a very talented roster all together, this year’s national team pales in comparison to the Team USA’s rosters of the past. For once, team USA did not have any of the top 30 NBA players representing them in the tournament and it showed. Although the FIBA World Cup is an important feat for many, to most of the big names of the sport, the only international competition that is worth risking injury and glory for is the Summer Olympics. 

    Without any notable names such as Lebron James, Kevin Durant, or Anthony Davis competing this year, the team was unable to truly dominate in international play, ultimately losing out to less talented teams such as Lithuania, Germany, and Canada. Although this year’s young, and inexperienced roster was unable to medal in the FIBA World Cup, these disappointing results have seemingly ignited the fire in many big, American basketball names from all around the country. 

    For the first time since the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Lebron James has announced that he plans to play for Team USA next year in the Olympic Games taking place in Paris, France. In addition to this, other notable names such as Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kylie Irving, Damian Lillard, Jason Tatum, Devin Booker, and many more have verbally committed to representing the nation. With a predicted roster like this, the gold medal is almost certainly guaranteed. 

    In addition, with this most likely being the last opportunity of international play for many of these players as they are finally aging out of their primes and nearing retirement, their absolute best effort can be expected. Many of these players such as Lebron, Durant, and Curry are fully aware that they are in the debate for either the best basketball players of all time or the best at their respective positions of all time, and know that another Olympic gold medal would only strengthen each of their individual arguments as well as their argument for the greatest Team USA Roster to ever grace the sport.